Introduction
Ever seen a foam rubber pillow or soft mattress, and wondered what it was made of? Well, you’re not alone. Today, we’ll be exploring the origins of this material and how exactly it’s created.
Foam rubber is a type of polymer that’s made up of polyurethane.
Polyurethane is a polymer with repeating units of diisocyanate and polyols. The exact makeup of these components depends on the application, but they’re often made up of urethane and polyether groups.
Foam rubber is simply a type of polyurethane that’s used in products like seat cushions, mattresses and shoe soles among many other things. It’s usually produced by adding surfactants (detergents) to increase its density so it’s easier to handle during production.
In order to get polyurethane, you have to combine polyols, diisocyanates and water.
Polyurethane foam is a synthetic material made from polyols, diisocyanates and water. Polyols are the organic compounds that help create polyurethane foam and they are typically made from natural or renewable resources. Polyols can be biodegradable too! Diisocyanates are another important ingredient in creating polyurethane because they’re what gives the rigid structure to your foam. Diisocyanates are made from petroleum.
The blowing agent in the mixture creates bubbles of carbon dioxide gas, which creates a flexible foam that has lots of small cells.
The blowing agent in the mixture creates bubbles of carbon dioxide gas, which creates a flexible foam that has lots of small cells.
The small cells are what give foam rubber its flexibility and softness. The smaller the cell size is, the more comfortable it will feel to sit on or sleep on because there’s less pressure per area. Additionally, the greater number of cells results in a lighter weight material that’s easy to cut and mold into shapes for use as cushions or other products.
The material is actually a rubber! It’s just created through a different process than traditional rubber.
Many people don’t realize that foam rubber is actually a type of polymer—just like traditional rubber. The difference is how it’s made. Traditional rubber is created by combining polyisoprene, which comes from tree sap, and sulfur. Foam rubber, on the other hand, is made by combining polyols; diisocyanates (the infomercial equivalent of “bad guys”); and water. Polyols are alkene-functional small molecules with multiple hydroxyl groups attached to them (they’re also used in cosmetics). Diisocyanates are aromatic amines that contain two amino groups connected to an aromatic ring structure; they react with the polyol molecules thus creating polyurethane chains (a chain of repeating units).
As you can see there’s no magic here: all we did was manipulate different types of chemicals together to make something new out of them!
Foam rubber is more flexible than natural rubber!
Foam rubber is more flexible than natural rubber!
It has a large number of small cells, which means it can be stretched in multiple directions without breaking. It also doesn’t have the same strength as natural latex, vinyl or neoprene—but it does come with some benefits that these materials don’t offer.
Conclusion
Foam rubber is a type of polymer, meaning it’s made up of many small groups of atoms that are all linked together. Polyurethane foam is the most common type of foam rubber, and it’s created when polyols, diisocyanates and water are mixed together. The mixture gets heated to make carbon dioxide bubbles, which creates cells in the material that give it its flexibility. These cells make it easy for air to flow through them so they’re filled with a lot less mass overall than traditional rubber.
In addition to having better flexibility than natural rubber products like latex mattresses or condoms, foam rubbers also don’t have any toxic chemicals in them! This means they’re safer for people who might have health problems related to allergies since there won’t be any negative reactions from using this product instead of another type like latex or nitrile gloves at work (e2).